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utILIty WEEK | 9th - 15th January 2015 | 5 ELEctrIcIty A £2 million wind turbine collapsed on Friday 2 January at the Screggagh windfarm in Northern Ireland, despite only medium wind speeds. The £26 million, 20MW windfarm opened in 2011, consisting of eight Nordex N80 2500kW turbines, each 100 metres tall. Following the collapse, the windfarm has been completely shut down until Nordex UK has completed an investigation to determine that the remaining seven turbines are safe to operate. An investigation is also being conducted to determine the reasons for the failure, see utilityweek.co.uk for more information. A spokeswoman for Nordex said the first phase of the investigation will conclude on Friday 9 January. Gongs for two top Decc officials "I remain confident that there is a strong future for the UK's oil and gas industry" Andy Samuel on his appointment as head of the UK's new oil and gas regulator, the Oil & Gas Authority Photo: PA The Icis Power Index (IPI) shows a "really bearish" year for the UK power market, said the market specialist's head of power, Zoe Double. "On average the IPI was 4 per cent lower in 2014 than in the year before. Prices fell almost 8 per cent in December 2014 alone and are now at two-year lows," Double said. "This is mostly due to the impact of very low UK gas prices, which lost more value than wholesale power. In the UK power market, prices have been supported by the carbon tax, which has risen each year, but even this support was whittled away to leave prices relatively unchanged," she explained. Double said the lower cost of gas relative to power led to a higher return for gas generators. For the first time in years generators opted to switch from cheap coal-fired power to gas generation over summer 2014. 'Bear market' dominated 2014 Two officials at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) based in Aberdeen have been awarded OBEs in the Queen's new year honours list. Bill Cattanach and Wendy Kennedy were both awarded the honour for their services to the oil and gas industry. Cattanach is the head of industry and technology develop- ment for upstream oil and gas for Decc. His team runs Pilot, formerly the oil and gas taskforce, which is tasked with securing the long-term future of the UK Continental Shelf and ensuring the full economic recovery of the UK's hydrocarbon resources. He joined Decc ten years ago from the Scottish Executive's Rural Affairs department. Kennedy is the director of off- shore oil and gas environment and decommissioning for Decc and has been in the role for 18 years. £45bn Value of the global carbon market at the end of 2014, after growing 15 per cent in one year 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 23 Dec 13 23 Feb 14 23 Apr 14 23 Jun 14 23 Aug 14 23 Oct 14 Source: Icis IPI value (£/MWh) 20-day rolling average Linear (IPI value £/MWh) Q1 temperatures warmer than expected and strong gas supply depressing prices Seasonal change-over; 2015 season prices include higher carbon price support level Less concern over gas supply and LNG deliveries to the UK rise UK nuclear outages to extend further into winter than expected Seasonal change- over; 2015 season prices include higher carbon price support level Gas concerns ease as Russia resumes supply to Ukraine with interim agreement Russia and Ukraine sanctions activity cause concern over winter gas supply Russia and Ukraine geopoli- tics cause concern over gas supply for future winters